How to choose workplace posters for your business

Start with the actual worksite and the laws that cover your business. Then check federal, state and local requirements separately. Keep the official instructions with each selected poster so someone can confirm its version, language, display and accessibility requirements.

1. Make a worksite worksheet

List the states and cities where employees work, whether people attend a physical workplace, and who handles posting updates. Add your employee count, business activity and any federal-contract status. Treat these as questions to resolve; a company mailing address alone is not a complete worksite description.

2. Check the federal layer

The U.S. Department of Labor explains that not every poster applies to every employer. Coverage depends on the particular law and business facts. Its poster resources and FirstStep Poster Advisor can help identify federal DOL postings, and required DOL posters are available free. State requirements can apply in addition to the federal layer. DOL poster resources

Record the agency page you used, the poster title and any applicability questions. A purchased combined poster should be checked against the applicable official instructions, just as a downloaded one should.

3. Check the state and local layers

Use the labor or other responsible agency for each employee worksite. Check whether the instructions cover your employee count, industry and location. If an agency points to another authority, follow that source rather than assuming a federal poster is the complete set.

This guide does not provide a verified poster list for every jurisdiction. A state name or a generic download bundle is not confirmation that a particular employer has every required notice.

4. Resolve physical, remote and accessible display

Do not assume that emailing a PDF satisfies every posting rule. For its Know Your Rights poster, EEOC says digital posting generally supplements physical posting; it also describes circumstances in which electronic posting may be the only posting. EEOC separately addresses access for applicants and employees with disabilities. Those instructions concern that poster, not every workplace notice. EEOC poster instructions

Keep a separate decision for each notice: where it belongs, who needs access, and which official instruction supports the method. Ask the responsible agency when the instruction does not resolve your situation.

5. Record the check and assign updates

A practical worksheet can include: worksite, agency source, notice title, source version, required language, display method, person responsible and date checked. These are suggested administration fields, not a universal legal retention rule. Recheck when the workplace or applicable instructions change.

What GoodState can help you evaluate

GoodState's standard plan does not include physical posters. Poster information, free agency downloads, paid print ordering and physical placement are different activities. Any GoodState poster service depends on its exact released scope and eligibility; this guide does not promise ordering, fulfillment or installation.

For related planning, see the free Compliance Calendar and plans and separate charges. This is a selection workflow, not a determination that a business meets every posting obligation.

Back to the reporting methods guide

For remote or hybrid staff, review physical and electronic posting separately for each applicable notice. Remote and hybrid poster review.